Strategic Niche Management Research Articles

Sufficiency Initiatives and Municipalities: Opportunities and Limitations for Bringing People and Politics Together

This article examines the potential and challenges of sufficiency initiatives within the urban environment, focusing on their ability to bring people and politics together. Drawing on research from the EU-funded “FULFILL” project, which includes surveys, interviews and case studies in five EU Member States, this study explores the role of civil society initiatives in fostering sufficiency—a concept that advocates for meeting human needs within planetary boundaries by altering lifestyles, societal norms, and regulatory frameworks. Sufficiency initiatives find themselves in a precarious position against a backdrop of growth-oriented urban development and face barriers such as lack of resources, legal and regulatory challenges, measurement difficulties, and inertia of municipalities. However, the study also identifies examples of fruitful cooperation between municipalities and initiatives and identifies enablers for successful collaboration, including aligned goals, engaged individuals, and effective communication. By providing an outlook for short-, mid-, and long-term governance perspectives, this article argues for strategic niche management in the short term, development of metrics for sufficiency in the medium term, and a systemic shift in urban dynamics in the long term. As urban sufficiency initiatives offer services and infrastructure to promote sustainable living, they are critical players in guiding cities towards ecological and social resilience. This article contributes to the discourse on urban sustainability by highlighting the importance of municipalities in nurturing sufficiency initiatives that can drive social well-being and environmental stewardship.

Upscaling cargo bike sharing in cities: A comparative case study

Urban mobility transitions are essential to mitigate climate change and improve the quality of life in cities. Cargo bikes (CBs) show promise in replacing motorised vehicles due to their lower carbon intensity, space efficiency, and ability to reduce air and noise pollution. CB sharing relieves users from purchase and maintenance costs. However, it is mainly adopted by individuals with high environmental awareness. Barriers to CB sharing stem from the urban infrastructure, individual mobility choices, and the design of CB sharing organisations (CBSOs). This article analyses upscaling pathways for CB sharing, i.e., increasing their use by a broader audience and reshaping the urban mobility regime. It delivers a comparative case study analysis of two CBSOs: Grätzlrad, Vienna, and LastenVelo e.V., Freiburg. Data was collected through academic and grey literature review and 15 semi-structured interviews with CB sharing stakeholders and experts. The analytical framework is informed by strategic niche management, viewing CB sharing as a niche innovation in the urban mobility regime. The article enhances understanding of CB sharing, the interaction of CBSOs with key actors, and their scalability. CBSOs should increase the availability of shared CBs while reducing the organisational effort required from users. New ways of CB sharing, e.g., integration in shared mobility hubs, should be explored. Municipal actors play a crucial role in upscaling and ensuring that CB sharing reaches a diverse user base. The findings are useful for academia, practitioners and policymakers working with CB sharing and other sustainable urban mobility solutions.

Holistic Approach to Niche Formation: A Case on Transition to Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings in Türkiye

The long-term challenges of climate change are becoming increasingly evident. Considering the ever-increasing need for energy in parallel with population growth and the impact of greenhouse gases, the built environment is among the issues that should be addressed as a priority. As international agreements, the EU, and national legislation become institutionalized, the need to decarbonize the built environment increases. For this reason, there is a need for an understanding that enables the transition to a more sustainable society. In line with this understanding, a transition to zero-energy buildings is required. In this article, the evaluation framework is created by combining the Transition Management (TM) approach, which is a framework developed to understand long-term changes in culture, structure, and practices for sustainable development solutions, and the Strategic Niche Management (SNM) approach, which encourages technological and social change to initiate sustainable innovations at the niche level. Applications regarding energy efficiency and niche formation for the built environment in Türkiye (Gaziantep) were discussed. When the applications and theories are evaluated together, it can be seen that the applications carried out in Gaziantep regarding Nearly Zero Energy Buildings may be starter experiments. However, these projects are insufficient to create a niche, and the developments are progressing very slowly.

Socio-technical transitions towards sustainable development: A proposal for learning assessment in livestock SMEs in the semi-arid Pampas of Argentina

The urgency to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the face of climate change has increased interest in studies on innovation niches in food systems. Strategic Niche Management in the framework of the Multi-Level Perspective considers that deep learning must be achieved in experimenting with innovations and demands greater understanding of instrumental aspects to guide the evolution of a niche. This study proposes to assess the progress of innovative performance towards sustainability of small and medium livestock enterprises in the Southwest of Buenos Aires, a fragile region of the Pampas biome of Argentina, as a result of learning generated in rural extension activities of the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) in order to identify leverage points in the process of technological change towards more sustainable systems. An exploratory-descriptive study was carried out using qualitative-quantitative methods. Ten producers were interviewed and the MESMIS method was proposed for the construction of indicators and assessment of learning goals towards sustainability. A rapprochement of producers from modal practices to more innovative ones was observed, reflecting conditions for the progress and consolidation of the niche. However, they need for greater professionalization and institutional articulation. The study generated a measurement instrument for the self-assessment of the niche enterprises and the planning of INTA's intervention strategies. It sought to broaden empirical research in Latin America, which is still scarce in approaches to socio-technical transitions, and to advance in the evaluation of experiments in transformative innovations on the agenda for the literature.

Transforming the food system in ‘unprotected space’: the case of diverse grain networks in England

Transitioning to food systems that are equitable, resilient, healthy and environmentally sustainable will require the cultivation and diffusion of transformational sociotechnical innovations—and grassroots movements are an essential source of such innovations. Within the literature on strategic niche management, government-provided ‘protected spaces’ where niche innovations can develop without facing the pressures of the market is an essential part of sustainability transitions. However, because of their desire to transform rather than transition food systems, grassroots movements often struggle to acquire such protected spaces and so must determine how and where to generate change whilst being marginalised and exposed to unprotected spaces. The aim of this research is to gain a precise view of the multiple touchpoints of marginalisation that exist across the grassroots-government interface and to apply a new framework for conceptual analysis of these touchpoints that can help to identify where and how grassroots movements might be able to push against this marginalisation. The study finds that, by applying a ‘who, what, where’ framework of analysis to policies across this interface, it is possible to find pathways forward for achieving small wins towards food systems transformation.

Make digitalized places for experimentation work: unravelling and governing transformative dynamics of FabLabs and Makerspaces

ABSTRACT While maker platforms, such as FabLabs and Makerspaces, are commonly perceived as drivers for transformative trajectories, little is known about how the dynamics of experimental collective agency are mobilizing transformative capacities that foster change on the local level. This paper contributes to the understanding of collective innovation dynamics of maker platforms that aim to support collective experimentation and translate novel practices to incumbent institutions on the local level. By drawing on the strategic niche management literature, a comparative case study of six maker platforms in Germany is conducted. Findings indicate three relevant modes of translation that could be identified: Firstly, translation by active shielding and institutionalized adaption emphasizes the role of harbouring universities in fencing off market pressures and offering events as well as workshops to regime actors. Secondly, translation by enabling learning mechanisms highlights the effect of implementing proper formats for assessment and learning on mutual translation. Thirdly, translation by sustained cooperation and coordination between maker platforms and local institutions stresses capacities for cooperation and a demand-oriented coordination between maker platforms and incumbent institutions.

Enhancing circular bioeconomy in Europe: Sustainable valorization of residual grassland biomass for emerging bio-based value chains

The growing interest in value-added materials from lignocellulosic biomass residues highlights their potential for environmental and economic benefits. However, a comprehensive understanding of the socio-technical implications of transitioning to a circular bioeconomy remains underexplored. This paper addresses this gap by introducing a conceptual framework delineating the niche innovation mechanisms that foster emerging circular grass-based value chains within this context. The analysis builds on an exploratory case study framework, expert interviews and workshops identify obstacles coinciding with different valorizing approaches: cascading, substitution, and complementary. The results indicate that the cascading approach struggles with biomass quality, efficiency, and industrial integration. The substitution approach underscores the need for streamlined processes and niche marketing, while the complementary approach requires technology adaptation and capacity-building programs. In light of these challenges, this study emphasizes three strategic niche management processes critical for the transition. First, active engagement of local farmers and landowners in waste stream valorization is proposed to unlock synergies and drive innovation in emerging value chains. Second, learning activities should prioritize continuous monitoring of novel grass-based products and promote open communication with end-users to enhance marketability. Third, given the institutional uncertainty and ambiguity, aligning expectations becomes crucial. This implies the necessity of coordinating interests among actors such as combining top-down and bottom-up policy measures. These are effective mechanisms for accelerating the transition to circular bioeconomy.

Can small and medium-sized companies increase the value added from wood-based side streams?

One of the central goals of circular bioeconomy in the Finnish forest-based sector is upgrading the use of wood-based materials, especially wood-based side streams, to higher value-added products. However, despite these ambitions, most wood-based side streams are used in energy production. Within the forest-based sector, innovative solutions for higher value-added production of wood-based side streams are being developed within small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). Therefore, to promote the process of upscaling these solutions, understanding the success of these companies is pivotal. For this end, we conducted a qualitative study with 10 forest-based SMEs utilizing wood-based side streams to understand both the internal and external factors affecting their ability to scale up their business models. By applying the dynamic capabilities approach from management research and the strategic niche management approach from sociotechnical transition studies, we found that even though the companies are internally well positioned to succeed in their growth aspirations, they face barriers from the dominant forest-based regime. The studied SMEs are facing a mismatch between their own business models and the rules and operating principles of the forest-based sector based on linear economy. Overcoming these barriers and challenging the dominant structures within the Finnish forest-based regime would require joint efforts from the companies. However, the companies have a strong technological orientation, which makes them hesitant with regard to horizontal networking. They also operate in diverse markets, making it difficult for them to find common ground. As a result, the pressure for systemic transformation within the forest-based sector remains nominal.

Transformative Business Models for Decarbonization: Insights from Prize-Winning Start-Ups at the Web Summit

The increasing social pressure for decarbonization has placed businesses under considerable scrutiny to actively reduce carbon emissions. A critical step towards achieving this objective is to shift conventional production and consumption systems to more sustainable alternatives. Thus, there is an emergent need to understand the patterns and drivers of the transformative business models (BMs) that underpin that shift. This study adopts a mixed-methods approach that integrates different literature streams—including Sustainability Transitions Theory (STT), Strategic Niche Management (SNM), and the Business Models approach—and stakeholders’ interviews to investigate the key elements of business models that lead towards sustainable practices. This research examines the organizational arrangements of European start-ups operating between 2014 and 2020. The transformation towards decarbonized production and consumption is characterized by an efficient combination of business strategies that incorporate advanced technologies (ATs), such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and its algorithms, along with sustainable elements, resulting in transformative business models. By exploring the driving elements behind the transition to low-carbon approaches, this study fills a significant gap in the existing literature on business models. The findings from this research also hold relevance for policymakers to promote decarbonization.

Stakeholder Discourse on Synthetic Fuels: A Positioning and Narrative Analysis

The transition of mobility (in German “Verkehrswende”) as a fundamental part of the overall energy transition is a controversial field among stakeholders—in particular when it comes to synthetic fuels. There are considerable opposing views on the pros and cons of synthetic fuels within stakeholder communication. Against this background, the aim of this study was to research stakeholder positions and communication by identifying, systemizing, and assessing the bandwidth of stakeholder statements and views in Germany using a document-based positioning analysis. The objective was to provide the broadest possible range of (controversial) assessments on synthetic fuels’ future pathways. Based on a document analysis of 41 sources published by 17 stakeholders from the areas of economy, environment, and civil society in the last ten years, we analyzed commonalities and differences in the assessments of the synthetic fuels’ path as well as the reasons behind it. The results were synthesized in three narrative frames dominating the German discourse on synthetic fuels, namely: (1) synthetic fuels as a key component for the mobility transition; (2) synthetic fuels as an essential strategic niche management component, and (3) mobility transition as sustainable, affordable, safe, and comfortable mobility—with or without synthetic fuels.

Socio-technical transitions and sustainable agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean: a systematic review of the literature 2010–2021

The challenges and opportunities Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries face to meet sustainable development force nations to seek technological alternatives to ensure better policy design. It also includes technology transfer for the productive inclusion of the rural population in the region. This paper aims to characterize the conceptual frameworks applied to studying socio-technical transitions related to sustainable agriculture in the region. A systematic review literature (SRL) was conducted covering 2010–2021. The main findings suggest that the general ideas of socio-technical transition have been used to study sustainable agriculture in LAC. However, its use has been more implicit than explicit, with some predominance of the Strategic Niche Management (SNM) and the Transition Management Approach (TM) frameworks. In addition, the socio-technical transitions as a straightforward approach have started to be incorporated more clearly after 2020. Finally, the leading technologies to foster socio-technical transitions to sustainable agriculture in the region are related to pest control and soil conservation, so social practices such as certifications have had preponderance in this transition. This paper contributes to the existing literature, broadens the frontier of socio-technical analysis in the transition to sustainable agriculture, and expands our knowledge on applying socio-technical analysis in marginal contexts.

The evolving policy network in sustainable transitions: The case of new energy vehicle niche in China

Policy has been the driving force behind the rapid development of China's new energy vehicle (NEV) industry. However, the policy network that supports NEV development has been underexplored. This paper explores NEV as an innovative niche for sustainable transition and investigates the evolutionary mechanism of its policy network by combining insights from policy network, strategic niche management and technology innovation system (TIS) theories. Operationally, this paper adopted a social network analysis method to study the NEV policy network in various niche development stages consisting of 377 NEV policy documents formulated by government agencies between 2000 and 2021. Results show the NEV policy network evolves towards bigger, newer actors and is more heterogeneous in creating joint efforts in policymaking that promotes niche development and facilitates a transition to a market niche. Specifically, the policy network expands continually, and network density reaches the maximum of 0.635 at the end of the technological niche. Six agencies are identified as dominators in NEV policymaking. Collaboration on NEV policymaking exhibits obvious organisational heterogeneity, especially in the market niche with an E-I value of 0.576. This study enhances understanding of the evolutionary patterns of policy network and its function on supporting TIS development for immaturely sustainable technologies. The findings also provide important insights into the NEV policymaking process.

Community-engaged renewable energy deployment: a strategic niche management perspective

ABSTRACT This article explores emergent practice in renewable energy adoption supporting the pursuit of UN Sustainable Development Goal 7, to ‘Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.’ A Strategic Niche Management (SNM) model is adapted to interpret a complex web of activities being undertaken in seven Australian longitudinal case studies. The SNM model was developed to better reflect the evolutionary and strong collaborative nature of the observed entrepreneurial practice. A combination of an interactive SNM model and PESTLE analysis helps to provide an explanation in different settings incorporating a theoretical feedback loop. We conclude that community engagement is helping to deliver targeted renewable energy outcomes in the pursuit of UN SDG7 outcomes through collaborative actions being taken at an enterprise project level. Advice is included for practitioners following the renewable energy deployment path articulated.

From a promising technological niche to an established market niche: Solar photovoltaic niche formation in Iran

Transformation toward a low-carbon sustainable energy system is getting more recognition in oil-rich developing countries under pressure exerted by their growing environmental challenges and international treaties- including UN SDGs. This calls for concerted efforts for developing renewable energy technologies (RETs). In this regard, the current paper examines the historical development of the solar photovoltaic (PV) niche formation in Iran from 1990 to 2020 in two chronological phases, i.e., technological niches and market niches. We adopt strategic niche management framework and highlight the active role of government support should plays as a key prerequisite required for RET niches development in oil-rich developing countries (ORDCs) where market is heavily in favor of fossil sources of energy. Data was gathered through 19 semi-structured interviews as well as PV-related science and technology development activities. We found that while universities and research institutions played a pivotal role in PV technological niche formation, foreign direct investment (FDI) and local firms were instrumental in PV market niche development. Our findings provide recommendations to direct ORDCs in developing PV, which include proper implementation of feed-in tariff policy, enhanced collaboration among international and local actors, integrated and balanced development of the PV value chain, diversified application of PV in the residential and industrial sectors, and lastly, leveraging FDI and joint-ventures as means of promoting local technological capabilities, industrialization, and market expansion.

China’s Biogas Industry’s Sustainable Transition to a Low-Carbon Plan—A Socio-Technical Perspective

China’s biogas industry has experienced ups and downs over the past two decades, with various challenges pointing to misplaced expectations that biogas technology is overly focused on energy production. With the promotion of China’s low-carbon strategy, a more rational and sustainable transformation strategy is crucial for the development of the biogas industry. To elucidate the sustainable development process of the biogas industry, this study applies the socio-technical transition theory and the strategic niche management (SNM) approach to understand the multi-regime interactions of biogas systems and their possible future paths. At present, the Chinese biogas industry needs to abandon the expectation of energy recovery and establish the expectation of multi-functional combination, especially including nutrient cycling. This study proposes a sustainable transformation path for the biogas industry and predicts three phases based on the type of socio-technological transformation path: a transformation path to 2030 to promote niche innovation and develop core technologies; a reconfiguration path from 2030 to 2050, which will require a lot of trials and errors; and the expansion of market share in 2050 through technology replacement. This study highlights the importance of niche experimentations and broad advocacy coalitions for the biogas industry. This research also illustrates how the transformation of China’s biogas industry can be achieved through incremental innovation with consistent policy support.

Social movements and institutional entrepreneurship as facilitators of technology transition: The case of free/open-source software

We integrate insights from the literature on social movements and institutional entrepreneurship into the strategic niche management (SNM) and multilevel perspective (MLP) frameworks to understand the emergence of Linux, a free/open-source operating system, in a regime dominated by proprietary operating systems such as Unix and Windows NT. Employing a “microhistories” methodology, we document how actors in the free/open-source movement took steps that enabled an alternate technological niche to form, gain momentum and eventually infiltrate the extant regime. Our account delineates the key role that actors play in shaping the identity of a niche, amplifying its presence, and finally mainstreaming it. We observe a heterogenous response by incumbents to the emergent niche and highlight the sustained coexistence of a niche and regime as a distinct form of technological transition. Finally, we demonstrate the significant impact that a niche can have, spanning beyond the targeted regime, and becoming part of the landscape. Our insights highlight how tracing the processes involved in the emergence and development of a niche can provide a prospective and generative understanding of technological transition, thereby contributing to and complementing the extant SNM and MLP literatures.

Towards a deeper understanding of up-scaling in socio-technical transitions: The case of energy communities

The pressing nature of the climate crisis is placing sub-national action at the forefront of climate mitigation. Energy communities have been an example of such niche action, as, over the past decades, they have blossomed in number and have challenged dominant narratives of the energy transition. The aggregate impact such action promises may be necessary to mitigate the global-scale problem of the climate crisis. This opens up the vexing question of what mechanisms are at play in scaling such action and how the contours of causality may be painted in the pathways towards transitions. This article aims to address this gap by building on the concept of mechanismic thinking. The innovative nature of this approach helps us identify empirical examples of conditions of scaling and brings conceptual clarity to studying processes of transitions. This article identifies conditions in relation to various pathways of transitions and the strategic management of niches. We identify several conditions that scaling may depend on through a systematic literature review of the energy community literature. From our review, two key results surface: Firstly, at the empirical level, the conditions identified suggest that a diversity of pathways to scaling may exist in parallel. Secondly, the conditions found in the literature can productively be mapped based on three dimensions: conditions internal to communities, conditions affecting interactions between communities, and finally, conditions related to the context of community initiatives. By feeding back our findings into leading theories in the field, our review enriches existing accounts of niche-internal dynamics of the strategic niche management approach. Moreover, we suggest that mechanismic thinking has much to add to the research agenda on connecting local scale innovation and higher scale impact in socio-technical thinking.

A Transitions Perspective on Circular Business Models: Towards a Conceptual Framework

The concepts ‘circular business models’ and ‘transitions towards a circular economy’ became modern-day buzzwords. Yet, an understanding of the interplay between these two concepts remains rather uncertain. This paper proposes a conceptual framework that illustrates the innovation processes of circular business models emerging within the structural context of transitions towards a circular economy. The paper follows a three-step methodology. First, a priori definitions of the core concepts are given. Second, a deductive conceptualization is proposed by adopting theoretical insights from transition studies, specifically from perspectives of technological innovation systems and strategic niche management. Third, a systematic literature review is employed. The review scrutinizes and synthesizes the selected literature to illustrate if and how the proposed conceptualization was reflected within the previously published research. Finally, based on the integration of deductive reasoning and systematic literature review, a conceptual framework is proposed. This framework proposes future lines of research to illustrate its plausibility. Moreover, it offers prescriptive help to managers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers, and other social actors enabling them to make informed decisions about and take innovative actions for circular business models.

Assessing the niche development of carbon capture and storage through strategic niche management approach: The case of China

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an important strategic technology choice for the future reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, which plays a crucial role as part of an economically sustainable route. Although some studies have discussed CCS demonstration projects and early developments, CCS has not been investigated as an innovative niche for sustainable transition. In an attempt to fill this gap, this study studies CCS as an innovative niche and assess the niche development of CCS in China by using a strategic niche management (SNM) framework. The evolution of three interlinked niche processes (expectations, social networks and learning process) is analysed with a comprehensive analytical approach that includes policy, social network and bibliometric analysis. Results show that a CCS niche has formed in China, but it is at a relatively low level of niche development in terms of the three internal processes. The expectations for CCS evolved linearly and are constantly being reinforced. The actor network supporting CCS niche development is sparse, and network cohesion is gradually decreasing. CCS learning continues to deepen but remains insufficient; it focuses on technical aspects and provides little attention to policy and social issues. The results indicate that expectations have been well-established at various levels in China, but the network and the learning process still need to be improved. Our findings help to identify problems in the development of technology and provide useful references for technology planning and the further development of CCS.

Cycling and transitions theories: A conceptual framework to assess the relationship between cycling innovations and sustainability goals

Through its novel and systematic application of the multi-level perspective (MLP), sustainable mobility paradigm (SMP), and strategic niche management (SNM) principles, this article provides a framework for evaluating the relationship between cycling innovations and sustainability goals within a given institutional context. It then demonstrates the practical application of this framework with an analysis of the implementation of three comparable cycling innovations in three different mobility regimes. The article contributes to the literature on the transition to sustainable transportation systems by showing how the application of the SMP to transition theories provides an improved understanding of the role that cycling innovations play in transition processes. It also critically evaluates the limited amount of literature examining cycling innovations through the lens of transition theories and how this literature has been adopted by other scholars.